U.S. GETs GOLD!

The 2008 Olympic Men’s United States Basketball team is Gold Medalist again! They have reached the top again, by defeating Spain in a 118-107 victory on August 24, 2008. The U.S. won this game by smallest margin of their Olympic games.


The U.S. was faced with several nervous moments throughout the game with Spain. Spain had taken a early 5 point led halfway through the first quarter of the game, but it wasn’t just the score that was a cause for concern. Spain was effectively protecting and defending the paint against the U.S. big men. Spain had also been effective on their inside and outside scoring, which kept the U.S. on their heels defensively.


Foul trouble also had an early impact against the U.S. team. Dwight Howard, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant were all benched within the first 4 minutes of the game.


In the end, it was the U.S. that pulled away from Spin with their fast break points and high powered offensive players that led them to the victory over Spain. Dwayne Wade led the team in scoring with 27 and Kobe Bryant had 20 points (13 points in 4th quarter).

USA Team Roster

The Los Angeles Lakers Kobe Bryant has a goal of becoming a Gold Medalist at the 2008 Olympics. This year’s Olympic team has been put together with some of the best players in the league. The starting 5 includes:

Jason Kidd

• Averaged 10.1 assists this season to rank fourth in NBA, but scored career-low 10.8 points per game and was unable to lift Dallas past first round of playoffs after midseason trade from New Jersey.
• Selected five times to All-NBA first team and four times to All-Defensive first team.
  Picked for nine All-Star games, including five starts.
  His 100 career triple-doubles are easily the most of any active player, and he averaged a triple-double in 2007 playoffs.
• Has led his teams to playoff appearances in 12 straight seasons, including trips to NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.
• In 2006-07, joined Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson as only players in league history to average at least 13.0 points, 9.0 assists and 8.0 rebounds.
• Placed among NBA's top 10 in steals in nine seasons.
• Finished as runner-up in MVP voting in 2002 and was fifth in 1999.
• Became fourth player in league history to lead NBA in assists in three straight seasons (1999-2001), then finished second in 2001-02 before leading league the next two seasons.
• Has never averaged fewer than 7.7 assists through his first 14 seasons.
  

Kobe Bryant

• Claimed first NBA MVP award this season after leading Lakers to best record in Western Conference.
• Was league's second-leading scorer with 28.3 points per game while averaging 6.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists.
• Helped Lakers reach NBA finals for first time since 2004, but held to average of 21.3 points over final three games in losing series to Boston.
• Finished third in voting for the 2006-07 NBA MVP award after leading league with 31.6 points per game and topping Lakers with 5.4 assists a game.
• Led league in scoring in 2005-06 with 35.4 points per game, including 81 against Toronto on Jan. 22, 2006.
• Named to All-NBA first team in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008, to second team in 2000 and 2001, and third team in 1999 and 2005.
• Named to NBA All-Defensive first team six times, including last three seasons.
• Appeared and started in 10 All-Star games, getting named MVP twice.
• Won NBA championships with Lakers in 2000, 2001 and 2002.
• Holds NBA record for most made 3-point field goals in one game with 12, and shares NBA record for most 3-pointers made in one half with eight.
  
  LeBron James
• Led NBA in scoring for first time in 2007-08,
• Led Cavaliers to franchise's first trip to NBA Finals in 2007 and placed fifth in league MVP voting.
• Joined Oscar Robertson as the only players in league history to average at least 27.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists in three consecutive seasons.
• Helped Cleveland to consecutive playoff berths after the team failed to qualify in seven straight seasons.
• Named to All-NBA first team in 2006, to second team in 2005 and 2007.
• Has averaged more than 27 points in three straight seasons.
• Selected to four All-Star teams, getting named MVP after his 29-point performance in the 2006 game and leading the Eastern Conference with 28 points in 2007.
• Became the youngest player ever to reach 3,500 points, 1,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists, and is youngest to score 40 in one game.
• Won Rookie of the Year in 2004 after finishing in top five among first-year players in all major statistical categories.
• Scored a U.S. Olympic qualifying-record 31 points as the U.S. beat Argentina to win the gold medal at the 2007 FIBA Americas Championship.
  
  Carmelo Anthony
• Scoring average dropped to 25.7 per game this season, his lowest since 2004-05 but still fourth-best in NBA.
• Has led Denver to playoffs in each of his five seasons in NBA, but has never advanced past first round.
• Named All-NBA third team in 2006 and 2007.
• Averaged 28.9 points to rank second in the league in 2006-07, and added 6.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game.
• Picked as starter for 2008 All-Star game and reserve for 2007, scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 25 minutes.
• Has averaged more than 20 points in each of his four full seasons in the NBA after spending only one season at Syracuse.
• Helped Denver reach the playoffs in all four seasons after the team failed to qualify in eight straight seasons.
• Became third-fastest player in league history to score 2,000 points, and second-youngest to score 40 in one game.
• Selected unanimously for 2003-04 All-Rookie first team and finished second to LeBron James in Rookie of the Year voting.
• Was second-leading scorer in 2007 FIBA Americas Championship with 21.2 points per game as he shot 61.3 percent from the field and 57.8 percent from 3-point range.
  
  
  Dwight Howard
• Howard Won the 2008 NBA slam Dunk contest
• Howard was selected for the 2008 All- Star Team
• Howard is has averaged 10.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game and Field goal percentage of .759 in the Olympic preliminary games.
  
  Olympic Roster:
  09 Wade, Dwyane
  15 Anthony, Carmelo
  06 James, LeBron
  10 Bryant, Kobe
  11 Howard, Dwight
  08 Redd, Michael
  12 Bosh, Chris
  13 Paul, Chris
  07 Williams, Deron
  04 Boozer, Carlos
  14 Prince, Tayshaun
  05 Kidd, Jason
  
  The U.S. has a record of 5-0 in the preliminary games so far. The U.S. team’s goal is to bring the Gold back to the United States.
  
  
  You can stay up to date with results of all Olympic Basketball games at
  
  www.sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/basketball/results/BKM400/2?is_medal=
  
  http://www.usabasketball.com/seniormen/2008/stats/USA.HTM
  

Lakers 2007-2008 Season

Is Lakers Mania back in Los Angeles? I think the answer is Yes! This year, Lakers mania has arisen from the grave. The past few years had been tough for the average Laker fan, with the Lakers being eliminated from the playoffs in the first round two consecutive seasons, but 2008 brought a lot of joy and site of potential.

This season started off being a question mark due to the fact that Kobe Bryant had asked to be traded.
Kobe argument with management was because management wasn’t going out and getting skilled enough players to make a real playoff push. Kobe felt like the team was still in rebuilding mode and he wanted out of that.

However, Kobe remained on the Lakers and they started the season off to good start, due to the progression of the 21 year old Andrew Bynum, whom had been a question mark since he was drafted two years prior. Bynum became the second option for the Lakers, by averaging a double-double 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Once the season had begun to look good for the Lakers, Andrew Bynum went down with a season-ending knee injury, and once again the Lakers were falling apart.

Until the Lakers management pulled off one of the best trades of all time. The Lakers traded Kwame Brown, a non-factor on the roster, for Pau Gasol, who is a 7 foot all-star caliber player. Once Gasol got in the mix, the Lakers were back in first place and the Lakers fever was in the air.

The Lakers with the addition of Gasol, made the playoffs as the number 1 seed in the west. The Lakers breezed through the first and second round of the playoffs and then defeated the Utah Jazz in a 6 game series, and the Laker Mania had really begun.

The Mania had begun, and people were buying all types of Lakers appeal from, Jerseys, Hats, shirts, and banners, but the most important were the Laker Flags.

The Lakers went to the NBA finals against the Boston Celtics and played a tough series, eventually losing the series in 6 games the Lakers showed tremendous heart and just came up 2 games short of winning the NBA Championship.

Kobe Bryant Vs. Michael Jordan

Who is the better NBA player Kobe Bryant or Micheal Jordan? The question is hard to answer since both players didn't compete against one another in the prime of their playing career. This answer of opinions can be arugued strongly both ways. Micheal Jordan is the pioneer of the new generation of basketball. His creative dunks and his wicked fade-away jump shots made him the MAN!!! in the late 80's and early 90's. However, this is a new age of basketball with the highest competition and skill level ever seen in the NBA. The NBA has some of greatest athelets and skilled players to ever play in the NBA, such as: Kevin Garnett, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, T-Mac, or Tim Duncan. These players are great NBA players who give thier all, but Kobe Bryant has separated himself from the greats today. Kobe is the most feared NBA scorer in the league today and maybe of all time. I've watched Kobe make 9 straight three point shots to tie the consecutive three point shots made record and then he hit 3 more to break the record of most three point shots in a game. In his career, Kobe has

• 23- 50 point games
• 92- 40 point games
• Consecutive games of 50 points or more: 4
• Consecutive games of 40 points or more: 9
• Most points in a Season: 2,832 points (2005-2006)

Kobe also has a the second most points every scored in a game by a single player, which was 81 points. This record is more impressive than Wilt Chamberlain's 100 points because the rules were different back then. Players were allowed to grab the ball off the rims, and since Wilt Chamberlain was the only 7 footer he dominated the games. Kobe's 81 was done in the modern NBA which is extremely difficult especially at the shooting guard position.
In my opinion, Kobe is the best player to ever play in the NBA. His career is not over and he is already in my opinion the best to play.